2015 AMA Pro Motocross – 250MX Muddy Creek race report

jeremy_martin_250_moto_2_tennessee_2015-06-09

250MX – Moto 1

Red Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin bounced back from last week’s outing to claim the victory in the first 250 Class moto at Muddy Creek. He raced out to the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award and checked out from there, winning by 18 seconds over the field.

Musquin has now won four out of seven motos this season. Martin – who entered today with the points lead – has won the other three.

Martin didn’t get off to as good of a start and would have to battle his way from outside the top five. He soon moved into fourth place, but then had to deal with second-place Adam Cianciarulo and third-place Jessy Nelson in between him and Musquin, and that was no easy task. Nelson was able to run a good pace and stay ahead of Martin for much of the race, finally succumbing to the Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha rider about 22 minutes into the moto after a tough battle. Martin then set his sights on Cianciarulo, who gave the position away with a crash. Once Martin moved around the downed Cianciarulo, he was able to cruise to a second-place result.

Cianciarulo also lost a spot to Nelson before he was able to remount his bike, then dropped into the clutches of his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate Joey Savatgy. Nelson secured his second podium finish in as many weeks, Savatgy took fourth, and Cianciarulo rounded out the top five.

It was a good moto for privateers, with Jace Owen, Hayden Mellross and Jackson Richardson all spending time in the top ten at some point.

Thanks to his victory, Musquin was able to retake the points lead. Martin’s charge past Nelson and Cianciarulo was pivotal because it allowed him to pick up four extra points and minimze the damage. The two championship contenders are now separated by just one single point entering the second moto. A victory in that moto for either rider would ensure them of sole possession of the red plate next week.

250MX – Moto 2

The matchup between Jeremy Martin and Marvin Musquin could not be much more even this season. The two championship contenders split moto wins for the second time this season, but once again, an error from one of them was enough to give away the overall win.

For the second week in a row, the error belonged to Musquin.

The first 250 Class moto of the day was dominated by Musquin. Once he grabbed the MotoSport.com Holeshot Award, he ran away with the moto win. Martin was forced to fight his way from outside the top five en route to a second-place finish. His biggest struggle came while battling Jessy Nelson for third, as Nelson was turning fast laps and Martin could not get in position to make a move for much of the race. He finally got around Nelson about 22 minutes into the moto, then passed Adam Cianciarulo for another spot shortly thereafter when Cianciarulo crashed. Nelson also got around the downed Cianciarulo to secure third in the moto.

The second moto was full of surprises. Aaron Plessinger – a teammate of Martin’s on the Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha team – took the lead from Nelson on the opening lap and stayed out front for nearly half the race. But he soon had Martin – who was third after the opening lap, then passed Nelson three laps later – on his rear fender. Martin would pass him teammate on Lap 8 and went on to win the moto, while Plessinger ultimately faded back to seventh place despite his strong start.

Meanwhile, Musquin was nowhere to be seen. The Red Bull KTM rider went down early and found himself outside the top 20 at the end of the first lap. He spent the rest of the moto picking off riders and salvaging as many points as he could – something reminiscent of Martin’s day at Glen Helen two weeks ago. Impressively, he worked his way up to fourth at the end of the race but ran out of time in his quest to run down Nelson and Cianciarulo, who finished second and third, respectively, in the moto.

With his 2-1 moto finishes, Martin secured the overall victory and added four points to his championship lead, ensuring that he will keep the red plate for at least another week. Next week’s race at High Point will mark the first time that a 250 Class rider has had sole possession of the red plate in back-to-back weeks, but with Musquin only six points back, Martin will need to be on point if he wants to keep it for a third straight week.

A third of the way into the season, Martin and Musquin are tied with four moto wins a piece. However, Martin has the edge on overall victories, with three to his credit versus just one for Musquin.

Musquin’s charge in Moto 2 ensured him a spot on the podium, as he finished second overall. Jessy Nelson (3-2) earned third overall, just one point back of Musquin, giving him his second podium finish in three weeks. (Last week he was just off the podium in fourth.)

MUDDY CREEK 250 MOTO 1 RESULTS

1. Marvin Musquin
2. Jeremy Martin
3. Jessy Nelson
4. Joey Savatgy
5. Adam Cianciarulo
6. Matt Bisceglia
7. Chris Alldredge
8. Aaron Plessinger
9. Zach Osborne
10. Shane McElrath
11. RJ Hampshire
12. Kyle Peters
13. Mitchell Oldenburg
14. Jordon Smith
15. Hayden Mellross
16. Jackson Richardson
17. Luke Renzland
18. Dakota Alix
19. Alex Martin
20. Jace Owen

MUDDY CREEK 250 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS

1. Jeremy Martin (2-1)
2. Marvin Musquin (1-4)
3. Jessy Nelson (3-2)
4. Adam Cianciarulo (5-3)
5. Joey Savatgy (4-11)
6. Aaron Plessinger (8-7)
7. Chris Alldredge (7-8)
8. RJ Hampshire (11-5)
9. Zach Osborne (9-9)
10. Matt Bisceglia (6-13)
11. Jordon Smith (14-6)
12. Shane McElrath (10-10)
13. Hayden Mellross (15-15)
14. Kyle Peters (12-18)
15. Alex Martin (19-12)
16. Luke Renzland (17-14)
17. Mitchell Oldenburg (13-40)
18. Dakota Alix (18-17)
19. Jace Owen (20-16)
20. Jackson Richardson (16-20)